Property Record
797 S LAKE SHORE DR
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Six Oaks |
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| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 68540 |
| Location (Address): | 797 S LAKE SHORE DR |
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| County: | Walworth |
| City: | |
| Township/Village: | Linn |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | 1 |
| Range: | 17 |
| Direction: | E |
| Section: | 12 |
| Quarter Section: | NW |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: | NW |
| Year Built: | 1884 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 1984 |
| Historic Use: | house |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Clapboard |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | Description: Swinghurst is a Queen Anne styled clapboard house built in 1884. The steeply pointed hip roofed, two and one half story house displays a vertical emphasis. The full front screened porch includes a wide stiarcase down to ground level. Extensive latticework conceals the basemenmt story. A second story balconied porch and a tower were added in 1893 on the northwest corner. (See Gage p. 174). The interior includes a living room with a balcony, once used as a pulpit for church services. Elaborate bathrooms include sunken tubs and fine leaded and beveled glass doors and windows. Swinghurst's extensive grounds were subdivided in 1934, but the lake frontage remains. The house itself is intact, and in excellent condition. Architectural/Engineering Significance: Swinghurst's interior and exterior integrity make the house a significant property in the Geneva Lake survey area. Historical Background: Swinghurst was built as a retreat for Professor David Swing, a former Presbyterian minister who had been forced to resign under charges of heresy. But the controversy between Swing and his superiors did not lessen his popularity. During his periods of residency at Geneva Lake, he was called upon to officiate at many public gatherings, including the opening ceremonies for the Holiday Home Camp. [B]. Swing has called his estate Six Oaks, but after his death, his daughter and son-in-law, Helen and Mason Starring, called the estate Swinghurst. They maintained the estate from 1894 until 1934, after which the estate was subdivided. The house itself remains intact. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. A. Gage, Mary Burns and Anne Wolfmeyer, "Lake Geneva, Newport of the West," 1976, pp. 171-74. B. "The Holiday Home," Lake Geneva "Regional News," 8/26/1909. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |